Distance
by DEATHmuse
Summary: Yuna wakes up and finds herself aboard a boat with a lone Guardian. She can't remember anything and Auron doesn't want to overwhelm her. Can he help her make the journey to Zanarkand alone? Auron/Yuna.


**Disclaimer:** Auron and Yuna are too cute to own... So no, I don't own them. But Square-Enix does.

**Author's Note:** So folks. It has been a long summer and I'm trying my hand at writing again. Know it's been like a year since I last tried to come up with something people would enjoy. This is my crack if I have ever had any. Auron and Yuna, for me, are about as cracked out as I have ever been. Not enough love in this fandom so I think it's time that I started doing some sharing. In any case, reviewing would be extremely helpful. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the first chapter. Chapter two is already in the works. ;D

**Chapter 1: Waterlogged**

"_We'll meet again, in Zanarkand!"_

_Yuna struggled to see through the flashing lights. Everything was a blur and she could barely make out Tidus's silhouette. _

"_We have to get Yuna out of here! We're surrounded-" Tidus fell silent before he could finish his sentence. There was a scream, and then she felt two pairs of arms begin to drag her away. At this point, Yuna was completely blinded by light. All she could do was listen and attempt to pick herself up. Lulu and Rikku's voices were guiding her as their arms helped to support her weight. _

"_Yunie, don't look back! We have to run! Please, try to run!" Rikku said in a watery tone. Lulu tried to reassure Yuna but it was to no avail. There was a piercing roar; it must have been Kimahri's. Yuna could hear the desperation and fear in it. Something had gone terribly wrong..._

--

"Yuna. Yuna, are you all right?" Auron spoke in a gentle tenor. He sat up in his chair and turned his head to look at the young woman that had begun to stir, attempting to mask his worry.

Yuna finally popped her head out from under the blankets and found herself in a foreign environment. The gentle rocking that she felt told her that she was on a boat… at sea. She studied the plush bedspread for a moment before eyeing Auron in wonder.

"Sir Auron, where are we?" Yuna squinted as her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room. Auron came into focus and she soon felt bashful. Yuna pulled the blankets around her once more as if to protect herself from Auron's calculating stare, but then realized she was also freezing.

The older man was now completely facing her. He cautiously got up before removing a glove and tracing cool fingers over her heated forehead. Yuna's teeth chattered involuntarily as Auron retracted his hand.

"As I had suspected, Sin's toxin has made you ill," Auron said as he pulled his glove on and made his way over to the door.

"I don't understand; I still don't know what's going on," Yuna spoke in between shivers. Auron had his hand on the doorknob before shaking his head.

"Right now your job is to rest. I have a feeling you're going to be hungry if you aren't already." Yuna was about to protest but Auron shot her a glance that effectively ended the conversation.

When Auron left, Yuna began to collect herself. Upon further inspection of the room she noticed the woodwork that was etched into the walls and bedposts. Nothing less was expected from Kilika carpentry; only the finest wood was used. It was that skill that could rival Luca's architects, or at least that was what she overheard Wakka talking to Auron about once. At that moment, she paused. A surge of thought took hold of Yuna. For a moment, she imagined, or rather, _remembered,_ Wakka being bent over a body. He had pulled the body up to his chest and called out frantically...

_--"Where is everyone, and more importantly, who is everyone?" _Yuna thought to herself silently. She felt a small throb in the back of her head as she forced herself to remember, but the harder she tried, the more obscure her thoughts became. Wakka was like her big brother… he was the captain of a Blitzball team …he, he. She couldn't remember anything else. But before she was satisfied with what she knew about him, she suddenly remembered him being very cross with her when she had confessed she wanted to be a Summoner. How could she have forgotten? He was her Guardian!

Her realization caused her to almost jump off the bed. She held her head as fear took her. If she had forgotten that, what else could she have forgotten?

She gasped when she heard the door open. Auron came in carrying a tray of food and before Yuna noticed, he had set it down on the nightstand next to her bed. Yuna was about to speak, but was interrupted by a rather loud growl coming from her stomach. The smell of the soup took her by storm. She was brought back to reality when she heard Auron let out a small chuckle. Anti-climactic.

"Eat. I brought it for you," Auron said, gesturing to the food. It was nothing too fancy: some soup, bread and what looked like lemonade, but she was more than grateful. She mumbled a small "thank you" as she took timid sips of the soup that quickly became slurps.

"To think I was worried that you would never wake up again," Auron said with a fake smile. Yuna noticed the drop in his voice.

"Have I been asleep long, Sir Auron?" she asked in between bites of bread.

"Yes. You gave me quite a scare. It's been a week and I have only been able to get you to drink a couple of times. It was too risky to take you to a medic in Besaid because I was worried they would have gotten word of us, but luckily I found an old friend who gave you some mild medicine." Auron reached into the lining of his coat before pulling out a small pouch that Yuna assumed contained her medicine.

"How did I come to fall ill? --Wait, I remember. You were talking about Sin's toxin. How did I become exposed to it?" Yuna questioned, scratching her head. Auron gave her a baffled look before speaking.

"You really don't remember anything, do you? Yuna, do you even know who I really am?" Auron spoke more deliberately this time. Yuna could sense how serious he had become.

"You're Sir Auron, of course. You were my father's Guardian and helped to bring about the Calm. But…" Yuna stopped and began to think much harder that time.

"But you're here right now. It's like a dream… You're one of my Guardians, like Wakka, aren't you?" Yuna became worried when she saw Auron's reaction. He ran his fingers through his hair with a sigh and became increasingly tense.

"Yes. Yes, I am your Guardian. Is that all you can remember?"

Yuna searched her mind for anything else that she might have forgotten. She felt embarrassed because she knew that she must have been forgetting something very important.

"At the moment, yes, but I could have sworn I had begun this pilgrimage sooner. I admit this feels like a bad case of déjà vu," she admitted before rubbing her forehead; the headache began to return.

"Are you hurting?" Auron asked while turning on a lamp. He began to examine her.

"Just my head. It aches when I try to remember."

Auron pulled Yuna's hand away from her forehead as he gave her a small glance. "Hmm. I'm no doctor, but I think it would be best for you not to force yourself to remember. For now, all you need to know is that you should take the pill I'm going to give you because it will take the pain away. Second of all, let me know if anything else begins to hurt. Tomorrow we'll be arriving in Kilika, so you'll need all the rest you can get. We have much to do and I will explain a little more." Auron then let go of Yuna's arm and opened the pouch to reveal a small blue pill.

"Do you have enough lemonade to drink this?"

Yuna quickly nodded and took the pill from Auron's palm.

"It may make you feel sleepy again, so don't fight it once it takes effect." Yuna held back the urge to want to hold the pill under her tongue and keep talking, but from what she could remember, she knew Auron would have none of that. So, she drank the pill down and quickly finished the rest of her meal in silence. Auron had now turned his focus to the window next to him. Yuna was certain that he was staring past the moon for an answer that seemed to be eluding him. She couldn't help but feel terrible about her current situation. She knew that Auron was keeping information from her but she knew that when he did so, he usually did it for her own good. However, at the moment, it didn't even take half a Chocobo's brain to know that something was deeply troubling Auron. She felt a pang of guilt when she remembered that she had been unconscious for such a long time.

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Sir Auron. It must have been troublesome those days that I was unconscious... My word! Did you have to carry me around the whole time?" Yuna adjusted herself so that she was now facing Auron.

"Only some of the time. I found an abandoned shack not too far from town. It was hidden enough so people and fiends couldn't find you while I had to head down to Besaid to acquire supplies. It always made me antsy whenever I had to leave you alone. I'm sorry that I did. Now that I think about it, I should have been more careful. I could have carried you along," Auron admitted looking a little frustrated.

"Oh no, you had done enough by that point! I'm the one who should have been awake. But wait a minute. Did I hear wrong or did you say that you had to hide me? Sir Auron, what's going on? Please, answer that question for me, at least." Yuna pleaded with her eyes until Auron had to look away once more.

"We're currently in hiding. All I would like to say for now is that we need to keep low profiles. When we get to Kilika tomorrow, we'll need to get some new clothes and change our looks. We don't want anyone knowing our whereabouts. The last thing we needed was for you to be captured."

Yuna began to ruminate before feeling extremely frightened.

"Who exactly are we running from?" Yuna squeaked. Auron gave her the most sympathetic look he could muster.

"We are running from those who would stop your pilgrimage. Yuna, we're running from Yevon and the whole of Spira at once." The words seemed to exhaust Auron and Yuna couldn't help but feel tears threaten to fall down her cheeks. One second her worry was trying to remember what she had forgotten, and now she was a wanted woman. Several silent tears fell down her cheeks before Auron broke the silence.

"We haven't lost yet, Yuna. There is no reason to cry. You have been in tougher situations than this one. Trust me; I know it for a fact."

Yuna bit her lip as she tried to calm herself down. Everything seemed to be so futile.

Auron tried to reassure here once more. "Shh, now. I will make sure that you will make it to Zanarkand, no matter the cost. I have faith in you, so please, do have faith in yourself. It's going to be all right." Auron felt like he almost had himself convinced that they would be okay. Yuna wiped the remaining tears from her face. She was finally shaking off some of the shock.

"I wasn't exactly crying for me… I was actually crying for you, Sir Auron." Yuna felt the frog in her throat as she spoke her sentence. Auron crossed his arms over his chest before raising a brow. A small hint of amusement crept into his voice when he finally decided to speak.

"And why is that?"

Yuna hesitated for a moment, choosing the right words to say.

"It's too big a burden for one Guardian to carry. If I got us into so much trouble, what kind of a Summoner must I be? I think what I'm trying to say, is that I'm touched by your loyalty, Sir Auron. Thank you. I'm sorry for being such a headache." Yuna bowed after speaking. When she looked up she didn't know if it was the light from the lamp playing tricks on her eyes, but she thought she had caught the end of a smile from Auron's lips.

"Hmph. You wouldn't be you if you weren't so sentimental. At least I know that you're acting like yourself. That's a good sign. In any case, you are very welcome, Yuna. I'm your Guardian. I'm supposed to protect you, but I have to take care of you and get you better before I can do any protecting…you have to be strong. Get better, okay?" Auron shrugged after his sentence. He wasn't used to speaking in such a supportive manner without being a little blunt. He was used to being tough on Tidus, even though he did hate the way he had treated him some of the time. He couldn't bring himself to be as stern with Yuna -- at least not right now when she was feeling ill and raw.

"I think a little rest is in order. I think I may have said too much today. Give yourself the night to ponder what you know and remember. We may have to get up early tomorrow if we don't want to be detected, so please do try and sleep tonight." Auron concluded his sentence by getting up and shutting off the lamp. Maybe he wouldn't feel as awkward if he felt she couldn't see him. The room once more was bathed in darkness and Auron felt a small tug at his jacket. He looked over his shoulder to see Yuna staring up at him.

"Where will you be sleeping, Sir Auron?"

Auron was caught off guard by the innocent question. Maybe it had been too long since someone questioned everything he did. It was very Braska-like.

"I don't plan on doing much sleeping tonight, and if I do, it will be in this chair. See?" Auron patted the chair he had been sitting in moments before.

"But I can't imagine that would be very comfortable," Yuna said with a frown. Auron simply rolled his eyes and sat down.

"I used to be a monk, remember? You don't honestly think all that time I spent sitting in the pews was used for praying hymns of the Fayth. I had to sleep some time." Auron allowed himself another smile.

"Besides, you need to rest up. I can manage without a couple of hours without sleep. I rested much of yesterday so don't worry."

Yuna nodded and yawned; the drugs had begun to take their effect.

"Thank you, Sir--"

"This is going to be a long journey, and I think it would be beneficial to you if you just referred to me as just Auron. Once again, you're welcome. Get some sleep now." Auron spoke in what was intended to come off as a gruff tone. Yuna couldn't help but smile to herself as she pulled the blankets up once more. She turned around and made herself comfortable.

"Very well. Thank you and good night… Auron." She yawned before ceasing to move. It was silent for a while. Auron turned his focus to the sounds of the ship as the ocean lapped across its wooden frame. Or at least he tried to tell himself that that is what he was focusing on. He slowly realized that he had begun to stare at Yuna again. He hadn't realized how small she was; her tiny frame was highlighted by moonlight. She gave the illusion that she was just another pillow that had been stuffed between the blankets.

"_Jecht. There had better be a damn good reason you've done this to us."_ _ Auron couldn't help but think out loud. That day he woke on the sandy shore of Besaid, he had never been more frightened in his life… well half-life, he corrected. He was disoriented and still weak from being transported by Sin. Hell if he knew how to swim, and Yuna's lifeless body was drifting out farther away from him. Of course, he threw himself into the water and tried his hardest to keep himself afloat, smashing his arms into the water as piranha fiends began to nibble at her kimono. He had made it back to shore with Yuna and a sickening amount of salt water in his lungs and stomach. He had even pushed his bad arm to its limit. As soon as he set Yuna down, it practically went limp. When he had expelled the salt water from his stomach and lungs after some forced and ragged coughs, he washed off his face and fumbled around for a Phoenix Down. He gave her the Down and watched some color return to her cheeks. He pushed down on her chest and without having to revive her, she coughed up the water but for the life of all of his attempts, she would not open her eyes. _

"_What the hell am I going to do? What do you want me to do?!" Auron shouted at the sky in a blind rage. He held Yuna hopelessly, her chest barely taking in shallow breaths._

There was the sound of shuffling blankets and Auron turned his head away and feigned sleep. He didn't anticipate that Yuna would have turned around anytime soon. He was relieved to see she looked peaceful, not like nights before when she had tossed and turned. She had uncovered herself slightly, or at least enough that it bothered Auron enough for him to get up and pull the blankets over her once more, forming a cocoon of sorts. She made a small sound as he tucked her in. Warmth crept into his chest and soon fell to the pit of his stomach. He blushed only slightly, feeling a little upset when he did so. He figured it must have been all that salt water he managed to choke down that day in Besaid that still had him hallucinating. He hoped that's all it was. Or perhaps it was the fact that she was the only person that had ever cried for him? He still couldn't get his head around why she had done so, but nonetheless, it made him feel somewhat validated -- perhaps even special. He sat back down and kept his gaze fixed on her, even as he, too, began to drift off.

"_I know I'm all you've got right now and that isn't very good, but… I pray that I can be strong enough to keep you safe… I will keep you safe."_


End file.
